The Bird Found the Body

Starting over in paradise can be murder.
When my fiancé leaves me high and dry, I jump at the chance to relocate to the tropical island of Half Moon Cross. I haven't talked to my Aunt Astrid in years and I've never run a bird-themed pirate tour company, but my cockatiel, Chicken, and I are desperate for a fresh start.

We're ready for sun, surf, and parrots. What we get is murder.

I might be in paradise, but I didn’t leave my problems in Boston. My Aunt is a virtual stranger and I'm scared she regrets giving me Parrots of The Caribbean. Her scarlet macaw Ruby, star of her tours, refuses to go out with me. But I didn't run escape rooms for years without learning how to solve a problem. I put Chicken in a pint-sized pirate costume and we're off. Our first voyage is almost smooth sailing—then my hawk-eyed cockatiel alerts us to a dead body on the beach!

The victim is an ex-employee and my aunt’s been framed.

If Astrid takes the blame, it will mean the end of Parrots of the Caribbean and the bird sanctuary that she cares for. And since the police aren't looking beyond her, it's up to me to find the real killer. Good thing I have some unexpected help from my new coworker and fast friend, Meg. She introduces me to Carlos, the handsome ex-detective who now makes the best fruity drinks on the island. We have too many suspects and not enough time. But when Chicken finds a key piece of evidence, my cockatiel might just crack the case.

Feathers will fly and justice will be served in this tropical cozy caper!

I was getting judged by a bird.
Not just any bird. Scarlet macaw Ruby, the mascot of Parrots of the Caribbean, the pirate adventure tour company I had just taken over for my aunt Astrid.
Well, sort of. We were on a trial basis to see if things worked out. If Ruby had a say, I probably should keep my resume current. She was dressed as a pirate, with a frilly white bird shirt and a little black hat with a curved brim and the Parrots of the Caribbean logo that matched mine.
But I had a feeling my most valuable employee was about to quit on my very first day on the job.
Maybe it was a good thing we decided to try things out before we made them permanent.
Aunt Astrid frowned at the big red beauty, and brought her close to her face. “Keela’s a bird person. Don’t you want to show her how good you are on the tour?”
Astrid was an imposing woman—tall and big-boned with a shock of fiery red hair. She never left home without her giant hoop earrings and one of her boldly printed signature kaftans. She wasn’t a woman who faded into the background. Even a diva like Ruby had to respect her game.
It almost didn’t stop me from amending her statement, adding that I was a little bird person. Size mattered, and Ruby knew it. “Maybe she can smell Chicken on me, and it’s a territorial thing.”
Chicken was my cockatiel. Typical little gray guy with a yellow face and big orange cheeks. I became his bird mom when someone left him behind in one of the escape rooms I created. How they managed to smuggle a bird into the room and leave him there was a giant puzzle in itself, even more so when no one came forward to claim him. He was a chatty, cuddly little bird and it had been him and me against the world ever since, especially since my fiancé unceremoniously dumped me. Now Chicken and I were on a new adventure together.
He hadn’t come out and said it, but I could tell he wasn’t thrilled about me seeing other birds, either. Maybe there was a competition thing between him and Ruby. Nothing that a few treats and a toy or two couldn’t fix—eventually. But the tour started in twenty minutes, and bird team building would have to wait.
“Maybe Ruby will decide we’re friends if I give her some of Chicken’s veggie muffins.” Yes, I baked for my bird. Personally, I could live off peanut butter toast and bubbly water, but Chicken needed a well-balanced diet.
Chicken squawked in protest from his travel cage as I broke off a piece of the treat and offered it to Ruby.
“I’ll bake more,” I promised.
Ruby’s hiss was a clear indication she was above accepting bribes, no matter how delicious they may be.
Back to the drawing board.
“Ruby!” Astrid scolded. “That’s not polite. If you’re nice to Keela, she’ll give you treats and scritch around your beak, just how you like it.”
I liked my fingers too much to even consider going near that beak until Ruby had a change of heart.
“Hi, Roy,” Ruby said in her little bird voice. “Roy. Roy.”
“Is the old girl asking for me?” Roy came into the room and chuckled, easily coaxing Ruby away from Astrid and giving her those promised face scritches.
Show off.
There was no way Astrid hadn’t noticed Ray’s absence for the last two hours. Again, it was on the tip of my tongue to say something, but not only did I not want to be that boss, especially during this trial period, Roy liked me about as much as the macaw did. Possibly even less.
So Ruby getting excited about his appearance stung. I could hardly call myself a bird expert after taking care of Chicken for only a few months, but I’d watched a few—okay, a lot—of online videos on the subject, and I knew birds chose their people very carefully.
I’d win her over. But for now, we needed a quick fix to make this tour a success.
Roy met my gaze with challenge, daring me to ask him why he was late. His cheeks were flushed, his tropical shirt was rumpled, and his gray hair, normally pulled back into a neat ponytail, had formed a fuzzy halo around his head.
He looked like he had had a morning.
“Maybe I can come out on one last tour with you, to help you and Ruby get used to each other,” Astrid suggested, breaking the tension.
From where I was standing, I had a view of the lobby. I could call it a bird’s-eye view, but Ruby’s glare was squarely on me, not on the tourgoers who were beginning to file into the waiting area. It was ninety degrees out, and Half Moon Cross only had one season—sunny side up. At best, the air conditioning in the cramped room took the edge off, which Astrid claimed added to the charm of the Parrots of Caribbean tour, but if this trial turned out to be permanent, fixing the HVAC would be on the top of my to-do list. I was a New England girl, and this pirate costume did nothing to hide the sweat marks.
“What if I take Chicken on the tour instead?” I suggested. He was used to going places with me. He had a flight suit, which was like a tiny pair of bird overalls that doubled as a diaper and a place to attach his harness, so I could take him everywhere without the threat of him flying away or making a mess. “He doesn’t know the lines like Ruby, but I can incorporate him into the story.”
This new arrangement made it sound like I had my tour lines memorized well enough to do improv. I definitely did not. I had been relying on Ruby to fill in the blanks.
Roy cackled from his corner desk. He already had his feet up, and Ruby was on his shoulder, headbanging in unison with his amusement. Roy pointed toward the waiting area. “Those people didn’t pay to see a cockatiel. They paid to see Ruby.”
“Chicken’s amazing.” I went over to his cage, opened the door, and offered him my finger. “You can totally do this, right, buddy?”
“Maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea to have another spokesbird,” Astrid said, but the sigh that punctuated the statement was full of doubt. She disappeared into the waiting area, and I braced myself for her to say the tour was canceled.
Instead, she came back with a tiny pirate hat and a package that she ripped open. “We ordered these for Ruby. She has a tendency to consider her hat a chew toy, so we keep several costumes on hand. They came in the wrong size. We get lots of bird parents on this tour, so we’ve been able to sell them from time to time. I bet, with a few adjustments, Chicken would look quite dashing in this.”
It wasn’t a perfect fit, and persuading Chicken to wear a hat on a regular basis might prove to be a challenge. But, if my audience was forgiving, he could pass for a pirate.
“Good boy,” I said. “Once we’re one with the tour, I’ll pay you in extra millet for wearing that hat.”
“I must say, he looks the part.” Astrid had her hands on her hips, considering Chicken, who gave her heart wings in response. Little flirt.
Astrid reached for her ear and frowned. “Ruby must have got one of my earrings again. You would think no one ever bought that bird toys.”
“Chicken can talk,” I said. Astrid had heard him say a couple things, so I mentioned it for Roy’s benefit. I wasn’t sure why I was trying to sell him on Chicken’s talents—if this all worked out, I’d be Roy’s boss. “Maybe you can show him how to do it on cue, like Ruby does.”
Astrid waved her hand. “Just make the tour memorable, and make sure that everyone tells a friend about it.”
That was exactly what I was afraid of.